The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) has a history of active participation in various outreach programs targeting underrepresented minority (URM) students within San Antonio as well as in a broader geographic region defined as "South Texas." This Proposal is designed to continue an already successful endeavor entitled the "South Texas Doctoral Bridge Program." The Program is a cooperative effort between UTHSCSA, the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and the University of Texas Pan American (UTPANAM). Its principal goal is to increase the academic competitiveness of URM students in preparing them for entry into a Ph.D. program at the UTHSCSA. The Specific Aims are to: a) provide the opportunity for URM students to obtain a Master's degree at either the UIW or UTPANAM, b) enhance the curriculum and research capabilities at the two partner institutions and c) promote faculty development on these campuses. Two students will participate in the Program at each partner institution. They will a) enroll in graduate-level coursework at either UIW or UTPANAM (those attending UIW will also take classes at the UTHSCSA), b) participate in organized journal clubs, c) conduct Master's level research with a faculty member at either the UIW or UTPANAM, d) spend their summers engaged in research at the UTHSCSA, e) have a UTHSCSA faculty member on their thesis supervising committee, f) interact regularly with UTHSCSA faculty via seminars and small group discussions, and g) be provided the opportunity to take a GRE preparation course. Faculty release time will a) allow expansion of the curriculum offerings, b) provide for further development of the research capabilities at the UIW and UTPANAM, and c) afford opportunities for the faculty at the two partner institutions to work with UTHSCSA faculty in collaborative research projects and in obtaining assistance in preparing grant proposals. The programs of the "South Texas Doctoral Bridge Program" will provide URM students the most promising means of achieving their goal of entering into a career as a biomedical research scientist.